Adjustable garment support



May 17, 1932- i w. H. PARKER ET Al. u 1,858,595

ADJUSTABLE GARMENT SUPPORT Filed Deo. 29, 1930 Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT orinar.

ILLINOIS WILLARID H. PARKER, 0F FAIRFIELD, IOWA, AND ALBERT P. CANNON, OF KEITI-ISBURG,

ADJUSTABLE GARMENT SUPPORT Application filed December 29, 1930. Serial No. 505,452.

The object of this invention is to provide an adjustable support adapted tov be suspended lfrom the ceiling of a room and capable of being extended longitudinally and of being adjusted rotatably, the device being capable of supporting an object such as a garment hanger with a garment thereon, whereby the garment so supported may be placed in any desired position for the purpose of cleaning or repairing it, or for display puroses.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide an adjustable support including a swivelly mounted cap, an outer tube depending therefrom, 'an inner tube telescopically mounted inthe outer tube, and means for easily and quickly causing the inner tube to be adjusted at any desired position in the outer tube and securely held in the selected position, the inner tube projecting from the lower end of the outer tube and being provided with means for supporting an article'.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an extensible and adjustable support which is simple, durable and efficient for the purposes for which it is designed.

With these and other objects in'view our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of our device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing two of the devices in posit-ion for practical Vuse in a room, a garment being suspended from one of the supports.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the extensible device in locked position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the parts in released position, whereby the inner tube may be readily moved and adjusted ing member 16 which may be the ceiling of a room in which the device is to be used. By mounting the cap in the manner described the device is swivelly or rotatably mounted, since the cap may turn freely on the screw 14 and may also be caused to swing laterally to some extent, inasmuch as the screw 14 preferably is not driven clear home in the supporting member 16. The cap '10 is internally threaded and an outer tubular member 18 is threaded therein and depends therefrom. The outer tube "18 preferably is expanded or iared outwardly at its lower end and terminates in an internal peripheral shoulder 20 defining .a circular opening in such lower end.

Telescopically and slidably mounted in the outer tube 18 is an inner tubular member 22 which is of greater length than the outer tube and projects through the opening dened by the shoulder 20. v

The inner tube 22 carries at its lower end a ring, loop or eye 24 which may be employed for receiving and supporting an objectsu-ch as a garment hanger 26 on which a garment such as 28 may be mounted.`

Means preferably is provided for preventing accidental removal of the inner tubefrom the outer tube and such means is shown particularly in Figures 4 and 5. I V l* Near its upper end the inner tube 22 is formed on one side with a recess or iattened portion 30 of substantially rectangular outline and on its diametrically opposite face `with a similar recess or iattened portion 32l tion of a retaining` spring 84 is mounted. At one end the spring 34 extends downwardly within the recess and terminates Vin a laterally directed lug 36. At the other end the spring 34 is formed with va downwardly inclined locking portion 38 which is normally received within the recess 32.

Throughout kthe greater range of sliding movement of the inner tube 22 within the outertube 18, both ends of the and the transverse lug 36, by engagement with the inner surface of the' wall of' thev outer tube, prevents any substantial oscil-k j j 'earriedtherebv togetherV .with theyielding lation of the spring, asv will be understood particularly from the showing in Figure 5;

In the event the inner tube 22 is extended or pulled downwardly in the outer tube 18 to a point where the locking springI 84 enters the flared lower portion of the outer tube, then and in such event the locking portion 38 of the s rin@ tends to move outwardl r as shown in Figure 4. Vrlhis outward move,- ment ott the portion 38 is caused by the natural resilience ofthe spring and the effort "of the inclined portion 38 to assume its natural position'v and such movement is permitted by the increased diametrical capacity at the lower end of the outer tube. Y ,v Yhen the locking portion 38 of the spring is permitted to move outwardly as just` de- Y scribed and as shown in Figure 4, its end will` engage the internal peripheral shoulder 20 of the outer tube and ,prevent further movement of the inner tube inan. outward direction, thus tending to prevent disassembling of theparts. v Y

VAn Aactuating rod 4() is closely iitted within the/innerl tube 22 and is capable of a slight longitudinal shifting movement therein. i Y

Near the lower endof the inner ltube 22 iS .HlQunteda ring orclamp 42 vwhich is pro- Videdrwith a pair of spaced laterally pro- .jeeting ears 44. Between the ears 44a bell cranklever 46 is pivotedl on a pinf48. One Y arm of the bell crank lever 46 projects through a slotted opening 50 in the tube 22 and terminates in a ball portion 52 which is Seated ina socket 54 in the actuating rod 40. Y l

The other arm ofthe bell crank lever 46 projectsdownwardly from the pivot v48 and is .adilpted for manualoperation for shifting the, rod 40. AneXpansive coil spring 56. is mounted between the tubel 22 and the downwardly 'projecting arm of the lever146- It is the purpose ofY the springto :hold the lower arm of the lever 46v oircvmr'dly` tothe liinitv'of its movement, or in other words to keep a downward pull on the actuating rod' 40 through the'other arm of the lever and 'its ball portion 52 engaginginthe socket V54.

The spring 5 6 may beheld in place Vby a lug 45,8 at one end' engaginfvin an apertmge in the wall of thetube 2a j i L I spring 34 are confined in the respective recesses 8G and-62 Withinthe notch is mounted a locking v.ball 64 and a portion of the periphery of said ball projects at all times within and is capable of being projectedl through .an opening 66 in the wall of the inner tube 22 at times.

Th-e normal or locked position of the parts is shown in Figure 2. In this position the weight of the rod 40,.tube 22 andelements pressure of the spring 56 on the lever, causes the cam face 62 to move downwardly to press the loclring. ball 64 outwardly in a radial direct-ion sothat a peripheral portion projects through the opening 66 into frictional en- A gagement with the inner surface of the wall of the out-er tube 18. This frictional engagement of the ball between the inclined or cam,

face62 andthe wall ofthe outertube prevents downward movement of the actuating rod 4() and inner tube 22. It will be understood that the Vmore force or weightis applied to the inner tube, the greater will be the locking lelieect of the ball 64, owing tothe wedging action ofthe cam face 62. f I

.lVhenit is desired to adjust the inner tube 22 either upwardly or downwardly, the lower Vportion of the tubegis grasped in the hand andthumb pressure isapplied to the lowerv arm ofthe bell crank lever 46, thus compress'- ing the spring 56 and shifting the rod 40 upwardly a distance corresponding tothe throw of theball portion 52 of saidlever.

rihis upward shifting movement of the rod 40 causestheball 64 to move into the lower or wider portion of the notch 60 'and the locking action between the cam fac/c62 and the wall of the outer tube is thus released as shown in Figure 3. A Y s k Thereupon the inner tube 22 maybe moved to the desired extent in the outer tube either by upward thrust orVV downward pull, or lit Y may be .rotatably adjusted in the outer tube by turning movement.

As soon as pressure on thebell crank 46 is released, thespring 56 acts to movethe arts back to the locking positionl shown .in Figure 2, as previously described, and the parts are thus automaticallyheld and locked in the selected position. v j

This supportingdevice vaffords* a convenient and easy adjusted supporting means which is particularly desirable `for supporting objects such as Agarmr--nts fromthe ceiling of a room. It may be utilized for display purposes and permits;V the garment'to b'e/sup- 'ported at the4 desired elevation above the floorY or other portion of the room. The device is i also useful in cleaningestablishmentsand the to get access to various parts of a garment for the purpose of brushing, cleaning spots, or making slight repairs.

The device is also durable and comparatively inexpensive and has no parts that are apt to get out of operative condition When properly used.

7e cla-im as our invention l. A supporting device, comprising a pair of telescoping tubes, means for supporting one of said tubes, means on the other tube for supporting an object, an actuating rod slidably mounted in the inner tube, said rod having a part snugly fitting within said tube and provided with a laterally opening notch having an inclined face and of greater width at its lower end, said inner tube being formed with an opening in its wall opposite said notch, a rolling locking member confined in said notch and having a part projecting through the opening of the inner tube into engagement with the wall of the outer tube, said inner tube projecting beyond one end of the outer tube and formed with a second lateral opening in such projecting portion, said actuating rod being formed with a laterally opening socket disposed opposite to said second mentioned lateral opening in the inner tube, a bracket on the projecting portion of said tube, a bell-crank lever ulcrumed on said bracket and having one end extended through the second mentioned opening of the inner tube into the socket of said actuating rod, and a spring mounted between the inner tube and the handle portion of said bell crank lever for normally drawing said actuating rod downwardly and causing said inclined face to press said locking member into engagement with the wall of the outer'tube.

2. In a supporting device, a pair of telescoping tub-es, means for supporting one of said tubes, means on the other tube for supporting an object, an actuating rod shiftably mounted in the inner tube and formed with an inclined face, the inner tube being formedwith an opening, a rolling locking member carried by the actuating rod and adapted to be pressed by its inclined face into frictional contact with the wall-@of the outer tube through the opening in said inner tube, manually operable means for shifting said actuating rod Jfor releasing said locking member from operative position, the outer tube being expanded somewhat at its end and formed with an internal shoulder,

said inner tube being formed with diametrically opposed recesses in its wall and with a transverse bore connecting said recesses, and a retaining spring having a central body portion traversing said bore and having at one end a lug arranged in one recess of said tube for preventing oscillation of said spring,

said spring having at its opposite end a laterally inclined locking portion normally 

